Pitch Decks - The Order of the Slides

As part of the Avoiding Common Issues in Startups series, let’s talk about an easy way to avoid losing the attention of your audience - having the slides in the right order. It may seem unimportant, but telling your story and getting people excited about your business is why you have a #PitchDeck. So, make the most of the opportunity and grab their attention at the beginning. As I have said a number of times in this series, once you lose your audience’s attention in a Pitch, it is over - you won’t get it back.

General Guidelines

We will talk through a number of subjects in this article, but here is the main theme of this article:

You need to grab the audience’s attention from the very beginning, so put your most impactful slides first.?

What makes a slide “impactful” is a bit subjective, which is what makes this part art and part science.

The reason that you have a Pitch Deck is to get the audience interested in your business and to generate follow-up conversations.

To do this start out from the second that they see your first slide, grab their attention, and don’t let go. Tell your story. Highlight your accomplishments. (This is one of the only times you will ever hear me say this…) Don’t be too humble. Brag about what you have done in the past. Make it emotional for them.?

Last week, we covered the basics on what slides you need, so I won’t rehash what is on each page. The order that the slides are listed is a good starting point. I’ll skip the First and Last Slides, as it is obvious why they are where they are, and there is an article about their content and importance here.?

The Problem

This is always near the beginning of the deck, and it usually immediately follows the Cover/First Slide. If there is a slide before this, make sure there is a logical transition from that one to this one and the story flows well.?

The Solution

Obviously, this naturally follows The Problem slide to tell the audience how you are going to resolve The Problem. As a reminder, this slide, and The Problem slide, should be non-technical and not use a lot of industry jargon. It should be easily understandable by someone outside of the industry.?

Our Story

This section is when you tell your audience why you are interested in solving The Problem and why you are qualified to solve it, so it usually goes immediately after The Problem and The Solution slides. However, it can precede The Problem slide if it is a necessary lead-in to better explain The Problem.?

The Market

Use this slide to get investors excited about the possibility of the company. It usually fits well right after the Problem, Solution, and Story slides. After you tell the audience why you are the right person and company to solve the problem, show them how big the opportunity is and get them excited about how much money can be made from it.?

Traction

This slide can move around, depending on the stage of the business. If you are profitable, this fits nicely between The Market and The Financials. However, if you are an early stage company, you should still show your accomplishments, but they are less important, so the slide may get moved toward the back of the deck.?As your business evolves and matures, this slide will gain relevance and move forward in the deck.

Financials

This is another slide that can move around. If you have really strong financials to date, this may move up in the slide deck. If you are pre-revenue or pre-MVP, this will be less relevant and will fall to the back.?

Our Team

This is an interesting one. Usually, it is at or near the end, but I saw a Pitch Deck a few months ago that had it at the beginning of the deck. The reason, as it turns out, was that the business idea was very new with a relatively untested market. If the founder started with The Problem and The Solution, the idea could have easily been dismissed. However, they had a very impressive collective resume, so they started with introducing the team. On that slide were the logos for Google, Tesla, and, I believe, Uber. Starting with that certainly grabbed the audience’s attention, and gave the idea a lot more street credibility. As referenced in last week’s article on what slides you need, make sure that this slide is not a regurgitation of resumes. Professional pictures are great and keep the roles and descriptions to a dozen words or less. Using logos of previous employers can be a great way to highlight work histories.?

Exit Strategy

This slide usually goes right before The Ask. Just before you tell an investor what you want (in The Ask), put their mind at ease and let them know the plan for them to get their investment back.?

The Ask

You have told your entire story from defining the problem to the eventual exit and everything in between, now it is time to ask for the money!

For an Investor Pitch Deck, everything in your presentation supports and builds towards the moment where you ask for the money.

Summary

Make sure your Pitch Deck tells a good story to someone with no experience in your industry.

Use the order of the slides to?grab the audience's attention from the very beginning and don't let go of it!

These are the base slides that are required in most any Pitch Deck. As noted previously in the article and the series, tailor your Pitch Deck to your audience. If you need to add a slide that is specific to the particular Pitch Competition, your story, or your ask, that is ok. Just keep it clear and concise.?

Save a link to this article as a reference for writing your Pitch Deck.

Questions? Put them in a comment below.

Need help with your Pitch Deck? Direct Message me and we can talk.

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